Page 52 of Unforeseen Mate

He leaned down, kissing her soundly. “Lots and lots of it.”

The next week was even more hectic as she and Hayden prepared for both weddings. They planned to have the first wedding and reception in the morning at Windsong, and then that evening, they would leave for the Hollow and repeat their vows there. Nora would be her bridesmaid here above and Caye down below.

Ten days later, Nora was buttoning up the back of the gown.

“Did you have to pick a gown with all these itty-bitty, lace-covered buttons?”

“Better than a corset, and besides, you keep your nails short.”

“I know, but still, what a pain.” Nora looked over Fallon’s shoulder and into the full-length mirror. “First, you look gorgeous. But more importantly, this is what you want, right?”

“It is. I love him every bit as much as you love Hutch.”

“Not possible,” Nora assured her, but Fallon knew different.

Several of her new, male friends had offered to walk her down the aisle, but she and Hayden had chosen a different way. They met at the top of the aisle and then walked toward the officiant together.

Fallon had been able to keep her emotions in check until she spotted a number of the hellhounds among their guests. They had left the Hollow and the Underworld to celebrate hers and Hayden’s union and that felt meaningful and significant.

The Hollow

Several Hours Later

“I understand you have words you wish to say to each other?” said the healer, who also was a kind of shaman for the hellhounds.

Not too many hellhound pairings took vows, but Fallon had noticed a great many of the unmarried females were intrigued with the idea. Caye had arranged for a number of them to gather in the home she shared with Hayden to help her get ready, which was completely unnecessary, but during which time they’d had a lot of fun and good cheer.

Hayden repeated the same vows they had taken above. “I, Hayden of the hellhounds, take this woman as my fated mate to love now and for always. I want her face to be the first thing I see in the morning and the last thing I see at night. And when it is time for us to leave our mortal shells behind, we will spend eternity together.”

Fallon shook her head. “You’d think having heard him say the same thing earlier today, it wouldn’t get me all choked up, but you’d be wrong. I love you, Hayden. I think I always have. I want to spend my life from this moment forward until the end of eternity with you, wrapped in not only in the safety of your embrace but the warmth of your smile.”

She had to admit while the wedding above had been beautiful, the one in the Underworld touched her more. Caye had assured her that gradually most of the hellhounds had come around and were willing to accept her, and it had proven to be true. Many had come to the wedding above, and they were all present for at least some part of the festivities below.

Hayden stood behind her, his arms wrapped around her waist, holding her close as they sipped champagne and watched the hellhounds laughing and celebrating, strengthening their bonds. Even Tanner had come and seemed to be enjoying himself.

As she leaned her head back against his shoulder, she couldn’t help but think about the tarot reading she’d had in London, reflecting on how it seemed to have all come true.Maybe nothing had been unforeseen, after all.

EPILOGUE

Brie

Christmas Day

Seattle, Washington

There were times when being the leader of the Shadow Sisters and righting wrongs, protecting innocents and just generally being a badass for good wasn’t all it was cracked up to be. Today was one of those times. The man she knew to be her fated mate slept in the large Victorian brass bed, completely sated, supremely confident, and about to be utterly destroyed.

That she was the architect of that destruction was something she had accepted a long time ago. It wasn’t that she had set out to destroy him; it was just that she couldn’t indulge her deepest romantic fantasies until her work was done—and she was a long way from being done. Colby would survive, but he was not going to be happy to find her gone.

In a world where humans reigned supreme, it was tough enough being a female Canadian lynx shifter. The rejuvenation of the Shadow League, a group of assassins controlled by the Ruling Council and used for their own nefarious purposes, meant that their counterpart, the Shadow Sisters, had been resurrected as well. Aubry Hawthorne, or Brie as she was knownto those closest to her, had been chosen to lead the group of female shifters who were often referred to as ‘rogues.’

Right now, Brie’s most vexing problem was her belief—which grew stronger each day—that the League had a far darker purpose than anyone imagined and answered to a master no one even knew existed for sure. That wasn’t entirely true. There were those who believed that someone existed; they just didn’t know who it was and couldn’t prove it yet.

One of those people was Colby Reynolds, the alpha of the Windsong clowder, her fated mate— and the man she would never see again.

Christmas Eve

Olympic National Park, Washington

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